Why Jonathan removed me as Sports minister — Bolaji Abdullahi

Political loyalty, not competence or results, is the decisive currency in Nigeria’s public service, Bolaji Abdullahi, Publicity Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has said, arguing that the country’s political culture routinely sidelines capable leaders who fail to align with dominant power blocs.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, on Wednesday, Abdullahi said his nearly 20 years in public service had taught him that performance often counts for little when weighed against political allegiance.

“One of the most important lessons I have learnt in public service is that politics trumps everything.”

“How good you are becomes secondary. How competent you are becomes secondary. Even whether you are getting results or not becomes secondary. If your politics is not right, none of that matters.”

Abdullahi, a former Minister of Sports, cited his own experience to illustrate how loyalty tests override objective assessments of performance. 

He said he was removed from office despite what he described as tangible achievements in Nigerian sports at the time.

“When I was removed as Minister of Sports, we had just won the AFCON, we were doing well in athletics and high-performance sports. All of that counted for nothing. Why? Because there was a political expectation I refused to meet.”

According to him, the turning point came during a political campaign in Kwara State, when he was expected to publicly attack a political leader who had defected from the ruling party.

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“Everyone was attacking him, and I was expected, as the most senior political appointee from the state, to also attack him.” 

“I said no, I wouldn’t do that. It was a matter of principle. If I could not attack him, I would also not attack the president if the situation were reversed.”

He said that decision cost him his job, but insisted he had no regrets.

“I didn’t feel bad,” he said. “You must stand for something, even if there is a price to pay for it.”

Abdullahi linked this culture of enforced loyalty to the persistence of godfatherism in Nigerian politics, arguing that such arrangements often render office holders invisible and undermine accountability.

“At the point where you have someone in front of you that everybody sees as your godfather, people stop seeing you. You don’t really exist again. I was a minister, but people stopped seeing me because I was in the shadow.”

He argued that while godfather–godson relationships are not inherently negative, they become damaging when they are built solely on personal interest rather than shared values.

“There is nothing inherently wrong with being a godfather. The problem is when that relationship is based only on self-interest. The day we build political relationships on ideals, on principles, on something bigger than the individuals involved, then they can survive.”

Reflecting on the breakdown of long-standing political alliances, Abdullahi said trust was central to any sustainable leadership relationship.

“When a relationship is built on trust and that trust is broken, it is broken. At some point, I felt I could no longer instinctively trust my leader. Once that happens, there is no point continuing.”

Despite the personal and professional costs, he said leaving office and stepping away from certain political relationships allowed him to retain his sense of integrity.

“I have absolutely no regrets. I left office, I moved on with my life. Sometimes, to save a relationship, you need a divorce.”

He said the ADC was seeking to challenge Nigeria’s loyalty-driven political culture by promoting clearer ethical standards and policy-based governance.

“Politics is too serious to be left to politicians alone. If we don’t build institutions and values that are stronger than personalities, we will keep rewarding loyalty over performance, and Nigeria will continue to pay the price.”